DORMONT (KDKA) – A police chase turned into a fatal crash early Monday morning in Dormont.

According to police, the chase started around 12:30 a.m. after 40-year-old Daniel Arch fled the scene of a two-car accident on West Liberty Avenue.

Arch did not have a valid Pennsylvania driver’s license.

“My officer pursued the vehicle,” Dormont Police Sgt. James Burke said. “The pursuit went down to the entrance of I-279 where Mr. Arch traveling at a pretty decent speed lost control of the van – subsequently ejected from the van.”

Arch lost control of his van as he tried to merge onto the Parkway West near the Fort Pitt Tunnel.

The van struck a concrete barrier, rolled onto the driver’s side and slid for several hundred feet before coming to rest.

Dormont police say they aren’t sure why Arch left the scene. Arch was not wearing a seatbelt and died as a result of the injuries sustained in the crash.

State police are handling the investigation. They’re looking into exactly how fast Arch was traveling when the situation happened.

DORMONT (KDKA) — Detectives from Allegheny County and the Dormont Police Department are investigating after a man was shot and killed in an apparent robbery attempt.

According to county dispatchers, the shooting happened shortly before 11a.m. in an alleyway near the 2900-block of West Liberty Avenue.

Police say a 39-year-old man walked into Bill’s Auto Parts armed with a gun and stun gun, ordered the shop owner, Bill Miller, and a delivery driver to the floor, and demanded money.

“The actor entered the garage, had two victims at gunpoint, put them on their knees,” said Asst. Supt. Jim Morton, of the Allegheny County Police.

Police say the owner of the business pulled a gun from his pocket and fired one shot at the robbery suspect, hitting him in the chest.

The suspect stumbled out the back door and died a short time later.

Police have not released the name of the man.

The D.A. is investigating whether any charges will be filed.

The D.A.’s office says this is the third incident in the last week in Allegheny County, where the intended victim of a crime has fought back against his or her attacker.

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – A shooting in Dormont Thursday that left a robbery suspect dead was the third incident in Allegheny County in the past seven days in which an intended victim shot and killed their alleged attacker.

The number of people who have applied to carry a concealed weapon has skyrocketed in recent years. An average of 12,000 permits have been issued in Allegheny County in the past three years.

Stacey Lang is a health care consultant in the North Hills. She says she has become so concerned about crime in the region that she got a license to carry and bought a gun for protection.

“I feel like I have a responsibility to protect my family; and frankly, I feel like it’s my right to do that,” said Lang.

She’s not alone. On Thursday, the owner of a Dormont repair garage took matters into his own hands when officials say a gunman entered his business.

Earlier in the week, authorities say a Sharpsburg man tussled with an assailant, and shot and killed the man with his own gun.

Last Friday, a Munhall woman did the same to a teenager who she says held her up at gunpoint.

Police say she was “able to disarm the robber and ultimately fired the gun at him and struck him in the chest.”

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala is reviewing all three cases, but hasn’t charged anyone with homicide.

In a statement, Zappala said: “It’s difficult to speak in general terms about cases involving self-defense because each case has different facts and circumstances. All three of the recent cases are under review by this office to determine what, if any, action is appropriate.”

State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe believes all those people were within their rights to use lethal force. He is sponsoring the so-called Castle Doctrine, which would expand a citizen’s right to shoot a suspected robber or burglar in their home, car, business or even on the street.

“When people are out and about in a legal, law abiding manner, and somebody comes upon to do them physical harm, they should have the right to not have to try and retreat, but to stand their ground as the Castle Doctrine would provide for and not put their lives at risk,” said Rep. Metcalfe.

The Castle Doctrine passed both the Pennsylvania House and Senate, but Gov. Ed Rendell vetoed it.

It’s expected to pass again early next year, and Governor-elect Tom Corbett says he will sign it into law.

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Pittsburgh police are investigating after two separate pursuits overnight, one ending in a crash in Homewood and the other ending with the suspect getting away.

The first chase happened around 9 p.m. Thursday and ended in a wreck at the corner of Hamilton Avenue and Frankstown Road in Homewood.

Authorities say in all three vehicles were damaged in the crash and two people were injured. They were taken to the hospital for treatment.

There is no word on their conditions at this time.

The other chase started in the city around 12:45 a.m. and ended in the South Hills.

According to officials, the suspect abandoned his car at Key Avenue and West Liberty Avenue in Dormont and ran off.

Police did a foot search but couldn’t find him.

So far, there is no official comment from police on what started either chase.

Stay with KDKA for the latest details.

DORMONT (KDKA) — Three police officers are being credited with saving the lives of an elderly Dormont man and his caregiver from a fire this morning.

Flames could be seen shooting from 1130 Biltmore Avenue around 6 a.m.

The officers were the first to arrive at the home and jumped into action.

Dormont Police Sgt. Ralph Zawischa told KDKA-TV that they could see smoke coming from the house when they got to the scene and went inside to help get Rossi Aiello, 93, out of his home safe

“We could also see smoke coming from the area of the roof of the house,” Sgt. Zawischa added, “so we were able to get the gentleman into his wheelchair, get him semi-bundled up, get him out of the house and get him over to the neighbor’s where he would be safe and warm.”

Flames quickly spread through the house. “Whenever we arrived, the fire blew up pretty good in the attic,” Dormont Fire Chief Dennis Davis added. “There was a lot of smoke.”

Some neighbors said they smelled something burning hours earlier. ”I actually drove down the street after work last night and I did smell smoke, but I didn’t really think anything of it,” Stephanie Harrod told KDKA. “It smelled like a fireplace.”

Fire investigators believe a faulty electrical circuit behind a vent in the eaves of the home apparently smoldered before igniting the roof of the home.

Thanks to the quick action of firefighters, however, Aiello’s home was spared.

Aiello is fine and will be staying at a personal care home until his home is repaired.

DORMONT (KDKA) – Police continue their search for a suspect today following an overnight pursuit and crash in Dormont.

Authorities say the suspect was driving a stolen red Jeep Cherokee when a Dormont police officer tried to pull him over.

The Dormont officer, Sgt. Ralf Zawischa, says he attempted to make the traffic stop around 2 a.m. when he saw the vehicle traveling the wrong way on Park Boulevard.

“I just figured it was a routine traffic stop,” Sgt. Zawischa said.

However, Sgt. Zawischa said the driver put the vehicle in reverse and struck the police crusier.

“It lost control shortly after that and slid into a parked car. As my police vehicle got closer, the driver of the vehicle threw the jeep into reverse and backed it into my police car. The vehicles became entangled because of the push bar. The jeep actually rode up over the push bar,” said Sgt. Zawischa. “He couldn’t go anywhere so he exited the vehicle, attempted to run.”

“I tried to restrain him. An altercation ensued,” said Sgt. Zawischa. “He was able to slip [out of] his jacket.”

Officials say police with Dormont, Baldwin, Mount Lebanon and Castle Shannon searched the area but were unable to find the suspect.

They are continuing the search today.

Also, authorities say they were able to contact the owner of the jeep in White Oak. Police also found checkbooks in the Jeep from someone is Beechview and a car radio.

DORMONT (KDKA) –A man and woman were arrested Sunday night for leaving their 2-year-old son alone in a cold Dormont apartment.

Neighbors say the cries coming from the apartment located inside of the building in the 1400-block of Potomac Avenue began well before 8 a.m.

“I heard the child scream, I guess it was about 10,15 minutes, but I thought the baby was just crying,” said Shyla Murray, a neighbor. “But my neighbor had called the police.”

“I could hear him shivering, then he started to scream and my other neighbor came out and started talking to him through the door,” said Meaghan Marie Woodley, another neighbor. “They said they would wait after I called 911.”

Firefighters entered the apartment through a rear window, using an adjoining porch. Once inside, they found the boy and the apartment at 60 degrees.

Police estimate the boy had been alone for hours.

“He was a hysterical. He was really sad. He was crying a lot. My other neighbor that came down, she consoled him,” said Murray. “I was trying to find something for him to wear because he just had on a shirt and a diaper.”

Police say they found papers in the apartment, identifying the child’s parents as Yolanda Pablo Segundo and Raul Cruz-Romero.

Police say they believe the couple works at a local restaurant during the overnight hours. He has custody three to four nights a week. Neither parent speaks English well, and required an interpreter when speaking with police.

The boy was taken to Children’s Hospital before being handed over to Children, Youth and Families. Both parents were charged with endangering the welfare of children.

“I know what its like to grow up in a rough situation and would not like to see any kid suffer,” said Woodley.

Police say that both parents acknowledged during their interviews, which were done through an interpreter, that they are allegedly in the United States illegally.

They are expected to be arraigned overnight.

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DORMONT (KDKA) – The fate of a little boy, who was found alone in a cold apartment over the weekend, is uncertain today.

His parents are in jail and he is in the custody of a county agency. Now, the family’s federal immigration status could determine what happens next.

At their arraignment, the parents wanted to know what would happen to their son.

They left the child alone in their Dormont apartment while they worked at a local restaurant. They claim the child was born in the United States and that he is a U.S. citizen.

The judge told them that immigration officials will have the final say about that claim.

“He was hysterical. He was really sad. He was crying a lot. My other neighbor that came down, she consoled him and she was holding him and everything. I was just trying to find him something to wear because he [was only wearing a shirt and diaper],” neighbor Shyla Murray said.

It was the cries of the 2-year-old boy that alerted neighbors, who then alerted police.

“We had to involve our fire department and were able to gain entry. This young infant was right by the front door, so obviously we can’t force that door without potentially injuring him. So, we forced a rear window,” Dormont Police Sergeant James Burke said.

The parents, Yolanda Pablo Segundo and Raul Cruz-Romero, were arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a child. The father told police the boy was left alone for eight to 12 hours. The mother said a caregiver was supposed to watch him.

Both admitted that they were not legal immigrants.

“Through the course of our investigation, it’s [been determined] that both parents are not legally in this country. Potentially, the father has been in this country since 2005 and living in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, he says, for three years,” Sergeant Burke said.

It took an interpreter, Children’s Hospital, Children Youth and Families and federal immigration agencies to intervene.

“Whether they will be allowed to stay here or be deported, what’s going to happen with the child. I am told though, if they are deported, the child will probably go with them if that’s their choice, which I’m assuming it would be,” Sergeant Burke said.

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Learn more about the Hollywood Theater in Dormont by visiting TheHollywoodDormont.org.

The Hollywood Theater in Dormont is getting ready to host a unique film competition. The “48 Hour Film Project” gives filmmakers a character, a prop, a line of dialogue and a genre. Then, contestants are given two days to bring it all together in a short film. The event will be held here July 8 to 10. Registration opens Tuesday. For more information, visit the link below:

• 48HourFilm.com

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Popular “Tom’s Diner” on the South Side is no longer “Tom’s Diner.”

The 1700-block of East Carson is known for Penny’s Diner?

Penny Folino took over for her father, Tom Petropoulos, who is now retired.

“Penny’s Diner in McMurray was the first one,” she said. “We went to a concept where it’s all fresh made from scratch, more reasonably-priced food. So it’s a finer diner.”

Her chain of seven restaurants extends to Morgantown, W. Va. Folino’s on the South Side will soon be Penny’s Glass House Bistro. But one name won’t change.

The family’s original restaurant opened in Dormont 30 years ago. Unlike the other ones, it will always be Tom’s Diner.

The former Penny Petropoulos got her start when she was 12.

“You know, I did everything,” she recalled. “I waited on the customers and I cooked their food and I washed the dishes – everything, from beginning to end.”

Though the South Side diner is Tom’s no longer, Penny’s is ready to serve.

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Police were called after some Verizon employees in Dormont left work to find their vehicles chained in at a parking lot.

It’s believed the chain was put up by striking workers.

Police came with bolt cutters and removed the chain. They say they are still investigating.

Meanwhile, an Allegheny County judge signed an order prohibiting striking workers from blocking the entrance to any Verizon offices or job sites. Striking workers are also prohibited from interfering with business by threatening or harassing customers.

Also, Verizon officials claim some striking workers are sabotaging service. On Monday, the company reported at least a dozen acts of sabotage.

They say fiber-optic lines were cut in Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York. That knocked out phone, Internet and television service to countless customers.

Union officials say accusing them of sabotage is a management tactic used to discredit the union.

Stay with KDKA for Jon Greiner’s full report on this developing story.

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DORMONT (KDKA) — The police chief and borough manager in Dormont are accusing the mayor of ticket fixing.

It turns out the mayor has dismissed thousands of tickets over the years and now the Allegheny County District Attorney is getting involved.

One car is familiar to folks writing parking tickets. It’s had at least 35 in one year. All of the tickets were dismissed by Dormont Mayor Thomas Lloyd when the officer was acting chief at the time.

“If the chief happened to be on borough business throughout the borough and was at a parking meter and got a citation and he got it dismissed, I don’t see anything wrong with that,” Lloyd said.

Lifetime Dormont resident John Castriota says the mayor has dismissed at least six of his tickets and he loves him for it.

“He’s such a nice guy,” he said.

Folks in Dormont with four, five, six – even 35 tickets dismissed think the mayor’s a good guy, that what he’s doing keeps folks here doing business in the community.

“I don’t know. I guess if you know the right people you get your ticket fixed,” Dormont Borough Manager Gino Rizza said.

He calls it dollars and cents and says $30,000 worth of tickets have been dismissed in a year and a half.

“That’s a police car,” Rizza said. “They’re worried about cuts and public safety – that’s a police car right there.”

Records provided by Dormont Police Chief Richard Dwyer show nearly 100,000 worth of tickets written, nearly $30,000 worth of tickets dismissed.

The chief says most of them were dismissed by the mayor.

“It just seems to just keep spiraling out of control here,” he said.

The police chief, who was recently suspended by the mayor, accused of abandoning his duties only to be reinstated by the borough manager, goes one step further with his allegations.

“Unless there’s some statutory authority for him to dismiss tags, I would think it was against the law,” Dwyer said.

The mayor is defiant and showed KDKAT-V the book where he keeps record of every ticket he dismissed – thousands over the years.

“Personally, I dismissed last year a little over $3,000 worth. Can’t buy a police car for that unless you’re buying it at Joe G’s car lot,” he said.

The mayor says he’s just doing what every mayor has done and he’s certainly not breaking the law and not giving political favors.

“No … no,” he said. “I wouldn’t do that – political favors.”

The Allegheny County District attorney’s office says Dormont has no guidelines or ordinances about who can dismiss traffic tickets and needs one.

“Failure to do so will continue to lead people to believe that tickets are being fixed by certain borough officials,” the DA said. “It’s important to note that a traffic ticket is not a criminal instrument.”

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DORMONT (KDKA) — A car drove onto the Port Authority “T” tracks in Dormont and became stuck.

This happened shortly after 9 p.m. Friday at the corner of Potomac and Broadway avenues.

The “T” was closed until the vehicle was towed away.

After inspectors check out the rails, the line was reopened.

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Butch Patrick played the role of little Eddie Munster on the hit comedy of the 60s.

“The Munsters” brought laughter to millions of living rooms. The actor, now 58, is visiting Pittsburgh to greet fans at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont Friday and Saturday night. He will introduce a film called “Munster Go Home.”

“Everybody asks me was that my real hair?”

KDKA’s Dave Crawley caught up with Butch Patrick at the Gallery on Baum in North Oakland.

“Have you ever seen anyone with hair like that?” he asks, pointing to a painting on the gallery wall.

“I got to play myself,” he recalled, of a once-little boy of eleven. “I just played myself, and then they put makeup on me and I would tweak it to whatever the scripts called for that day.”

Though most of the stars have passed away, the show lives on in re-runs.

“A good barometer is they keep re-issuing Munster stuff year after year after year,” he says, gesturing to a table filled with memorabilia. “So you know there’s still people watching it. Now we’ve got three generations, which is an interesting thing that I get a kick out of.”

Bruce Patrick has survived some rough spots. He’s now clean and sober, after 41 years of substance abuse, which began in the Hollywood of the 60s.

“Some people grew out of it. Some people didn’t. Some people wound up in jail or dead,” he said. “And I kind of survived. It’s amazing. For a little over 11 months I’ve done a complete 180. I’m feeling great.”

Eddie Munster has survived the scariest test of all.

DORMONT (KDKA) — Fire forced eight people out of an apartment building in Dormont.

It happened on West Liberty Avenue across the street from the Nissan dealership.

It appears the fire started near the roof.

There is no word on any injuries.

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DORMONT (KDKA) — When Paul Kaminski brought this box of books to the Dormont Historical Society, little did he know they were truly coming home.

That’s because the building, the Dormont Municipal Building, used to be Dormont School in the 1920′s where some of these books were checked out.

Paul, who was raised in Dormont, drove the books back from Arizona where his cousin had them. In the box, he discovered library books from the 1920′s.

“A fine of five cents a day shall be paid on each book which is not returned according to the above rule,” he said.

That comes to a $1,600 library fine for just this 1924 book!

Among the books was “All Quiet on the Western Front,” an old tom swift book from Hornes in downtown Pittsburgh and even a pressed red rose between some pages.

One book has a special inscription.

“This is my grandfather to my dad, giving him the book,” Paul explained. “From Dad to Edward, May 1929.”

Paul’s dad, Edward, died when Paul was only 21.

Muriel Moreland, founder of the Dormont Historical Society, helped KDKA-TV and Paul do some digging in their museum.

They found a picture of Paul’s dad in high school and Paul’s uncle, Vic, in elementary school in 1925 – probably the boy who never returned all those books.

They also found Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul’s senior picture from Dormont High School. Beside it, it says: “Pet peeve — Stuck up girls. Ambition – to go to college.”

They also found other famous Dormont graduates – Dave Newell, a.k.a. Mr. McFeely and Dennis Miller who graduated with Paul from Keystone Oaks – the new high school for Dormont kids.

If you’d like to explore for yourself or donate to the collection, the Dormont Historical Society is open on Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and on certain weekend days.

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DORMONT (KDKA) – Police are searching for a man who robbed a Dunkin’ Donuts in Dormont early Monday morning.

According to police, a man wearing black pants and a hoodie entered the Dunkin’ Donuts on West Liberty Avenue in Dormont and showed a gun.

“Concerning that this was daylight with patrons in the store,” Dormont Police Officer Thomas Maloney said. “He’s getting very bold.”

Police say this robbery was almost identical to one that happened February 19th at the Little Caesars Pizza just two doors down in the same plaza.

In both robberies, the man took the cash and ran towards Mississippi Avenue.

Officers say they’d like to catch the man before his pattern could get more dangerous.

“Is it going to turn to robbing people instead of going into businesses?” Maloney said.

Police say the main difference is the pizza shop was held up at night while the donut shop was held up in the morning.

The suspect is described as a white man between five-feet-five-inches and five-feet-seven-inches tall.

He had a thin build and wore a baseball cap with a hooded sweatshirt. His mouth was covered with a scarf.

Stay With KDKA.com For More Details

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The strong storms and lightning that moved through the area overnight left behind some damage in parts of the area.

The forces of nature launched an all-out airborne assault on the Pittsburgh area in the pre-dawn hours of Thursday.

Hundreds of lightning strikes peppered the area, doing a lot more than just waking a few people up from their night’s sleep.

“Lightning is nothing to mess around with,” said one local firefighter. “If it comes down, it can hit pretty hard.”

Like the apartment building on Potomac Avenue in Dormont. A direct hit blew the corner of the building off. Bricks were thrown up to 100 feet from the structure.

“I was in the shower, and I heard this really big bang,” said one resident. “I saw flashing lights near my window. I thought the building was on fire.”

There was no fire, but some cleanup and a couple thousand dollars in repairs will be necessary.

If it wasn’t lightning strikes, it was wind-weakened and water-logged limbs falling in places like Squirrel Hill.

An enormous limb broke loose at North Umberland near Murray Avenue. It took down wires and the road had to be closed.

Then, there’s the case of Bob Malloy in Banksville.

Malloy is living proof of the adage used by KDKA meteorologist Dennis Bowman: “When thunder roars, stay indoors.”

“I basically came out through the side door, turned around to get an umbrella, came back into the house and 20 seconds later, the hair stands up on the back of my neck,” said Malloy.

His property was hit by one of the lightning strikes.

“Hits the tree, comes down through, electrifies the light stand, blows the lights out, but I would have been probably within five feet of being right there.”

The energy from the strike did hit his house. It traveled underground and inside.

“Blew the wall switch off the wall, like cracked it in half,” said Malloy. “The fire department came, checked it out, supposedly everything is good.”

Meanwhile in Butler County, lightning struck a home in the 200-block of White Oak Place in Adams Township, according to emergency officials.

It happened around 3:30 a.m. as the storms started moving into the area.

No injuries were reported there.

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DORMONT (KDKA) — Empty a bag of loose tobacco into a rolling machine and within a minute’s time it will begin filling tiny paper tubes and start spitting out cigarettes – all at a significant savings for the customers of the Rock ‘N Roll Your Own Tobacco Shop in Dormont.

“If I buy two cartons in a week that’s $130,” Cindy White said. “And I’m only spending about $50, $52, so I’m saving a lot.”

But that will all be coming to end if President Obama signs a bill that will basically shutter shops like this one.

“It will effectively put me out of business within two weeks,” Joe Szatkowski said.

There are now dozens of roll your own operations in the region which have been exempted from cigarette taxes much to the chagrin of the big tobacco companies who pay must them.

But under a $109 billion transportation bill that has passed both the House and Senate, shops like this will have to pay those taxes and get manufacturing permits.

In this David and Goliath fight, big tobacco will prevail over little guys like Szatkowski.

“When you start hitting large corporations in the pocket, they want to make their voice heard and push their money around and this is where we stand today,” he said.

When Obama comes to CMU on Friday, Szatkowski and other roll your own operators will try to get within earshot of the president.

“If we get enough people to show up at least our voice will heard,” he said.

The bill is expected to reach Obama’s desk Friday afternoon.

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